


White Hot Morning

by xxoceanswavesxx



Series: The One to Make It Stay [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien salt, Alya Salt, Backwarder, F/M, Kitty Section, Lila salt, Lukanette, Marinette being happy, Marinette taking charge of her life, Puppeteer 2, Reflekdoll, Weredad - Freeform, ml s3 au, ml s3 salt, ml salt, ml salt au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-07-30 14:44:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20098894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxoceanswavesxx/pseuds/xxoceanswavesxx
Summary: Sequel to "Silence Can Be Beautiful".As the school year ends, Marinette finds some relationships might be compromised. But with summer around the corner and a new relationship in progress, she might just be able to bear the heat.





	1. Don't Worry, Be Happy

**Author's Note:**

> A couple of changes I made for the sake of this AU:  
\--> Luka is only a year older than everyone else in Kitty Section. He is 15, everyone else is 14.  
\--> The part of the story begins in mid/late June of 2016. Summer break usually starts in July in France, so they are almost on break. The timeline will be a bit more concise going forward.

“_ White hot morning, the blinding light of day holds sway. Barefoot yawning, wipe the night out from my eyes. It's slowly dawning, this summer town's a merry-go-round. The stakes get risen daily, in every way there's more to pay” ( _ Blowin’ Cool by Swervedriver_) _

\--

With Chloe as a bully, there are feelings Marinette had been accustomed to; frustration, being defeated and anxiety. But thankfully, things quickly turned around for the current school year and she had gotten Chloe to back down for the most part. And with other pressing issues at hand, Chloe didn't rule over her life like she once did.

When Alya came around to be her friend, Marinette thought those days were long gone. 

Using her yoyo, Ladybug hoists herself down to Alya's window and taps three times. With wide eyes, Alya sees her and nearly trips over her own feet trying to get the window.

"Ladybug! You're really here! Wait, let me just get my camera-"

"No," she says firmly, planting a hand on her shoulder, "There's something we must discuss privately. May I come in?"

"O-oh," she says, a bit stunned but still bouncing with excitement, "Of course!"

The room is a bit messier than Marinette expected. A whiteboard with new story leads is posted on the back of her door, with books normally on the shelf laid out on the bed and desk, open to random pages. 

It seems another project is in progress, as there's a photo collage on the wall adjacent to the bookshelf and hanging just over her bed. Most of them consist of Alya and Nino doing couple things. Holding hands, kissing each other's cheeks, wrapping themselves around the other and so on. There's also several photos of the girl group hanging out. Whether it was exchanging Secret Santa presents, hanging out at the pool or doing homework at Marinette's house before plotting their "Get-Mari-A-Date-With-Adrien" operations. 

The last thing she sees are photos of Alya and Lila. There's already two of them up on the wall, one being a neutral, friendly shot, and the other is with them having ice cream.

"So what can I do for you, Ladybug?" Alya asks, breaking her from her thoughts, "Need me for a mission?"

Opening up her yoyo, she pulls up the post on the Ladyblog, showing Chat's confession to her, thought her own reaction had been cut. Just on its own, it made her wince, but with the added context of Alya taping and posting it without her permission, she's surprised she hadn't started yelling at her like she did when Lila lied about being her best friend.

"No. We need to talk about something serious. About what happened today."

Her face falls. "Oh."

"For the record, I'm not upset about you getting akumatized," she says, showing her the screen on her yoyo, "However, I am livid that you decided to post this."

The video is taken from the side, though the beginning of the clip shakes a bit, Alya clearly flustered to get her camera. Chat desperately grasps her hand and stares at her with pleading eyes. With a clear but shaky voice, he declares his love for her and promise to confess yet again when they have their memories. The video cuts off after Ladybug says thank you, but there's clearly more she has to say after the comment.

Alya blinks and shrugs, "I don't see anything wrong with it. It's perfectly innocuous."

"Then allow me to explain," she says in a very tight voice. "For starters, this video makes a mockery of both Chat and my privacy. This was clearly meant to be an intimate moment and clearly meant a lot to him. And while he should have waited until you weren’t there to witness it, that doesn’t mean it was okay for you to record it.

"Number two, you eliminated context. I know for a fact that there was clearly more I told him based on how you cut the clip. But you didn't want to show it for some reason, probably because I rejected him and you didn't want to sink the 'Catbug' ship."

"Actually, 'LadyNoir is the official name."

"Is that what really matters right now?" She asks, snapping her yoyo shut. "All of that was already bad enough, but it's pretty obvious that I was still under the effects of Oblivio at the time, and my memory from that time frame no longer exists. But you decided to manipulate that clip to make it look like I agreed to dating Chat, when we both know that isn’t the case. Because even if I did under those circumstances, _ I was acting under akuma influence _. It’s as clear as day in that clip, but I guess you missed that when you were too busy cutting out my response.”

“Is that what this comes down to? Dating preferences?”

“It’s not just that, though I’m disgusted by the fact that you would so readily ignore my feelings for the sake of clickbait. But you don’t think Hawkmoth wouldn’t keep tabs on the Ladyblog or any news on me that would give away personal information? Now thinking that the two of us are dating, what do you think he’s going to do now?”

For the first time since she launched into her speech, Alya’s eyes widen. At long last, something _ finally _managed to get through to the stubborn reporter. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that.”

The urge to say, “No, clearly you didn’t,” was strong, but Marinette holds her tongue. The conversation is tough and she wants to scream at Alya, but she knows that Alya is still capable of good. She wants to believe Alya can still be her friend and a hero. Sighing, she says, "I'm afraid I have no other choice. I don't want to give up on you entirely, but you've hurt me too deeply, Alya. So this is your last chance. You are going to be temporarily benched as the holder of the fox during the course of the summer."

"Wait, what?"

She holds up her hand to object and silence her. "I am giving you the chance to get your priorities straight and show me that you care more about doing your job properly than getting views and attention. So I will also not be taking the time to give you special interviews and whatnot. You’re also going to need to watch yourself when akuma battles breakout, and not put yourself at risk."

"Hey, don't make me out to be some sort of attention seeker!" Alya interrupts, "I'm not like Chloe!"

"Interesting that you would drag your teammate into this. It's not making your case any better."

Frowning, Alya looks away, arms crossed. "So what? You're going to punish me and not her? How is that fair?"

"I will deal with Chloe as need be," she explains, "But that isn't your business at this point. You need to focus on doing better as a journalist and citizen before I can let you take up the mantle of being a hero again. And if you don't, I will never allow you to have a miraculous again, fox or not."

Alya can only regard her with cold terror as she heads for the window to leave.

"For your sake, I would start with removing those two videos and posting an apology.” 

\--

_ That’s one difficult conversation out of the way _, she thinks to herself, jumping from rooftop to rooftop until she reaches one where the Eiffel Tower remains in plain sight. Unfortunately, there’s still some business she has to take care of before retiring for the night, and that was yet another serious, long talk with her partner. One that feels completely unnecessary at this point, and one she shouldn’t have to worry about having. 

As she thinks about it, she’s already had this conversation _ at least _ twice. Maybe more by now. But having to tell Chat once again she’s _ not _interested in him felt like a battle she was going to lose quite a bit of her sanity in. 

Sighing, she thinks of Luka and his guitar, sitting outside in the young, summer sun with her, and letting the stress of school and supervillains melt away. Recalling how he didn’t hesitate at all in agreeing to go on a date with her for that weekend only brings a smile to her face, and reminds her of why she must get through this conversation.

“Oh? Having romantic daydreams about me, my lady?”

Of course Chat would arrive just as she was thinking about Luka. But she can’t allow that to set the tone of the conversation. Neutralizing her expression, she clears her throat and turns to Chat.

“I’ve been having good developments in my personal life,” she clarifies, “But we’re not here to talk about that. We need to talk about that video Alya posted today.”

Without fail, Chat’s expression undeniably lightens up. She knows what he’s going to ask before her can even open his mouth to speak, and she already finds herself rolling her eyes at the mere thought of it.

“You mean my confession, right? I know I don’t remember everything about it, but I meant every word of it!”

“But that’s the problem Chat,” she points out, “We weren’t exactly ourselves when that happened. It just feels wrong. That’s why Alya shouldn’t have posted that video.”

“I don’t see the harm in it. In fact, a lot of people seem happy about the fact that we’re in love. Why not give the people what they want? That’s just the celebrity lifestyle.”

She smacks her forehead with her head. Why does it feel like she zipped from talking to one brick wall to another in the span of about an hour? Giving herself a moment to let out a sharp breath of air, she says, “But we’re _ not _celebrities, Chat. We’re heroes! We’re supposed to assure the citizens of Paris that they’ll be kept safe from Hawkmoth, not get them invested in our love lives! Which, by the way, if that sort of information were leaked to Hawkmoth, he could use that against us!”

“But-”

“_ No, _ you’re going to listen to me for once,” she demands, “Because I’ve already told you this _ twice _ , and you ignored me _ both _ times. And _ both _ times, you gave me grief over it, and I’m tired of it. I’m tired of feeling bad for you or worrying if I hurt your feelings. If you actually cared about me, then this wouldn’t be an issue any more. But it seems no matter how many times I tell you that _ I’m in love with someone else _ , you just don’t listen. So here is me, once again, having to say this. Not only is there someone else, _ I’m dating that person_. And even if that wasn’t the case, _ I don’t feel that way about you _.”

His eyes and mouth widen for a moment, only to slowly falter after taking in what she had to say. She had never seen him so crestfallen or so defeated before, and the urge to feel bad creeps up on her. But she won’t falter. She’s done with having to sacrifice her own feelings for his.

“You’re my partner. You’re important to me. But you’re not the one I want to date, Chat. And I won’t apologize for that, because that’s how I feel and I know what’s right for me. If you can’t understand that, then this partnership isn’t going to work,” she finishes firmly, “I know that there’s a lot you want to say, but I’m going to give you some time to think about it instead. Because what you really need is to listen to what I’m saying for once. Good night, Chat.”

Leaving him on the rooftop, she zips away, making sure to take a long detour to assure herself that he’s not following her. Something makes her think that he has the urge to chase after her and demand that she either take back what she said or make her listen to his declaration of love _ again _. And she’s just not in the mood for that.

But finally, she makes it back into bed, undoes the transformation and collapses onto her bed.

“Are you sure it was a good idea to not listen to what Chat might have had to say?” Tikki asks, poking Marinette’s cheek, “What if he gets akumatized?”

“I’ll deal with it,” Marinette retorts, “And maybe I should have dealt with it better. But Tikki, how many times do I have to tell him to get him to leave me alone? What if _ I _end up getting akumatized because he won’t leave me alone? Is it really fair to prioritize his feelings over mine?”

It takes her a moment to process what it is Marinette has said. And when she does, Tikki looks down, averting Marinette’s gaze in pure shame.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that. It’s not fair of me to be saying stuff like that to you when you already deal with so much.”

Sighing, she cups her hands underneath Tikki. “We also need to work on our teamwork, Tikki. I know you’re only trying to help sometimes, but there are times where what you have to say only _ adds _ stress, and doesn’t help alleviate it. And I need to get better at telling you when those times are.”

She’s quiet for a moment before saying, “Okay.”

“Thank you,” she says, patting her head, “Now, let’s get some rest. I have one more day to get through before Saturday.”

“And your date with Luka?”

She looks away, smiling, but doesn’t answer the question. And Tikki doesn’t need to hear the answer to know.

\--

She's just starting to get into the habit of getting up earlier to get ready for school, setting multiple alarms for a reasonable time. This morning, however, none of those are the ones to wake her up. In fact, mere seconds before her first alarm can even go off, she receives a text message that jolts her from the bed. One glance at the sender's name, Nadja, and Marinette groans at what she knows is going to be the favor.

_ Hi, Marinette. I am so sorry to ask you this last minute, but I really need a babysitter for Manon tonight. The wax museum is opening its newest exhibits tonight, and I'm interviewing some of the artists and the curator. I don't think it'll be more than two hours, but I don't have anyone else than can watch Manon during that time. I have an extra two tickets (one for you and one for a guest, Manon already has her ticket) so all you would have to do is take her around the museum and maybe take her to dinner in the cafe (I'll give you enough money to cover it). Please let me know as soon as possible your availability! _

Sighing, Marinette is quick to relent to her fate. Well, she's at least given a reprieve in someone else to help her. And though Manon is a bundle of energy, even she would have to be somewhat entertained by wax statues.

_ Maybe _.

She agrees to the job and quickly sends out her text to Luka, asking if he'd like to join her and Manon.

_ Ok, great! I'll be waiting for you in front of the museum at five, before it officially opens. The tickets I give you will let you in a little early. My interview starts at five fifteen, and the gallery should be open at six. The cafe will open around the same time, so if she gets hungry around that time, you can just take her there. I'll give you money for that and the gift store (she can buy one thing and one thing only). Thank you so much and I'll see you tonight! _

She nods along to the text, only perking up when Luka responds.

_Sure, I don't mind helping out. I was kind of curious about the exhibits anyway._

Already, she can't wait for the school day to end.

\--

Luka meets her at the entrance of school and they take the bus to get to the museum. With the day mostly uneventful, the two instead trade guesses as to what they might expect to see in the exhibits. They both agree on Jagged and Clara Nightingale, and can't decide on whether or not XY would have made the cut. Marinette jokes that if she saw a Bob Roth statue, she'd punch it and run, and Luka laughs, promising to cover for her against security.

As promised, Nadja and Manon are waiting for the two of them outside the entrance, Manon practically running over and hugging Marinette at her legs. For a moment, she feels her phone vibrate, but chooses to ignore it and look at it after getting inside the museum.

"Ah, nice and early. Excellent, that'll give you more time to explore the exhibits. Here are your tickets, and-" she pauses, regarding Luka for a around, "Oh, you're new. Is this your guest, Marinette?"

"Oh, yeah. This is Luka."

She studies him for a moment before gasping, "Oh, I see! You're part of Kitty Section! The band that Bob Roth tried to steal from. Man, the studio had a field day after that incident."

Luka bites back a smile, trying very hard not to comment. It’s pretty obvious though how he feels about it though.

Her phone vibrates again, and she frowns. What could be so important right now? Still, it doesn’t seem like a good time to check.

“Anyway,” Nadja says, regaining her attention, “Manon knows she’s only allowed to have _ one _item from the gift shop. Isn’t that right, Manon?”

“Yes, _ mama _.”

She pats her daughter’s head. “Have fun, you three. If you have any problems, you can call my workline, and one of my assistants will be able to help you.”

Nadja takes her leave, and Manon looks eagerly in Luka’s direction. It seems that Luka will be making a new friend today, based on the way she stares at him with wide eyes.

“Alright,” Marinette says, “I just want to check something before we go inside.”

There are two missed calls from Alya, and just as she finishes, a text pops up on her screen.

_Mariiiii!_ _Adrien scored tix for the museum exhibit today! Pick up already! This might be ur only chance b4 the summer to spend some real time w him! We’ll be at ur house in like 5 mins, and we’re gonna ride in a limo all the way down there! And no excuses! Kitty Section, homework and all that stuff can wait! Don’t even think about hiding either, bc i no where all ur fave spots r! Come out and submit 2 ur fate!_

Pinching her forehead, she begins texting back.

_ Alya. I’m already at the museum. Sorry, but I made arrangements for me and Luka to babysit Manon. The three of you will just have to go without me. Maybe we’ll run into each other, but I cannot simply drop this for the sake of seeing my friends. I also don’t appreciate you making plans without _ asking _ me if it’s going to work for me. _

Putting her phone back in her pocket, she takes Manon’s hand and walks the three of them to the main exhibit in the front. Holding out the map, she points to the section labelled “Artists and Musicians”.

“I think the two of _ us _ are in agreement about wanting to see this part,” she says with a wink to Luka, “But Manon, is there anything _ you _would like to see?”

“Ooh, I wanna see some dinosaurs!” she exclaims, “Or Ladybug!”

With a promise to see at least _ one _of those things (“I don’t know about dinosaurs, but maybe they’ll have Ladybug?), the three of them wander from room to room, starting with some of the old pieces. Unfortunately, Manon gets quickly bored of the old stuff, and starts running around the room.

“Oh no,” Marinette panics, “Manon, you can’t run around in here! And don’t touch that statue! The artist will be very upset if you ruin it!”

“But I’m _ bored _!” Manon pouts, “All these statues are boring!”

Marinette goes to object, but Luka thankfully intervenes. Gesturing to an emptier spot of the room, Luka calls Manon over and has her sit on the ground.

“Would you like to play a game?”

She nods her head, “Can we play hide and seek?”

“Nothing like that, I’m afraid,” he says with a laugh, “No, I’m going to tell you a little bit about each of these people, without saying a single word.”

“What? No way,” Manon says, “You can’t tell people things without talking!”

“Sure I can,” he says, “Now, point to a statue you want to know more about.”

Frowning, Manon looks about the room, scrutinizing each statue until she eventually finds one that she likes. It’s a knight in shining armor, dated some four hundred years ago. 

“That one, huh?” he hums, laying his hands over his lap, before drumming out the first few beats of _ March _from the Nutcracker. Amazed, Manon leans forward, watching him drum notes, as Marinette lets out a small laugh. She’ll have to take notes from him, that’s for certain, but she also knows she made the right call in bringing him with her. “Alright, now you try and do it with me. Ready?”

Manon watches him carefully and tries to repeat what he does. She’s a bit slower and isn’t able to hit every beat like he can, but he catches on to this and is able to adjust. Soon enough, they’re much more in sync with each other and 

“Wow, that was so cool! Can you do Jagged next?”

“Of course,” he says with a bit of a sly smile. They had a couple of conversations involving Luka’s tastes in music, and a couple of subgenres in particular came up - 90s shoegaze and grunge. So Marinette had a feeling that she knew what song he was going to “play” next. When he begins drumming out the first few notes, she finds that she’s not disappointed. Just for fun, she finds herself sitting down next to both of them, and ends up singing along.

“Well, look what we have here.”

Marinette’s smile falters as she looks over to Alya. Behind her are Nino and Adrien, who are both headed toward the elevator. However, Alya continues to stand there, glowering down at Marinette with her arms crossed. The uncomfortable, but familiar feeling of panic begins to erupt throughout her. From the looks of it, Alya had something planned, but Marinette’s own plans got in the middle of them.

And now, there would be hell to pay.

“Marinette,” Manon asks, tugging on her sleeve, “Why is she staring at you like that? She’s scaring me.”

“It’s okay, Manon,” she says, “Why don’t you and Luka continue to play the game in the room over there, and I’ll talk to Alya to make sure she doesn’t scare you anymore.”

“Um, okay,” she says hesitantly, taking Luka’s hand. He gives her a concerned glance, but when she nods, he doesn’t object and goes into the next room as requested. It’s only when the two of them are gone that she asks Alya, “What is with you?”

“What’s ‘with’ me is that you ignored my calls and then snuck off to get out of confessing,” Alya huffs, “I’m only trying to help you, but you’re being such a baby.”

“But I don’t _ want _to confess to Adrien.”

“That’s exactly my point. Now come on, Adrien is waiting for you,” she says, going to grab Marinette by the wrist. She doesn’t expect it when Marinette pushes hand away, and takes a step away.

“_ No _.”

Completely flabbergasted, Alya can only stare “What do you mean, _ no _ ? This is your _ one _chance to confess to Adrien!”

“We’ll talk about this later, Alya,” Marinette says, “But one, I’m not interested in Adrien anymore, and two, I’m babysitting Manon with Luka. And _ nothing _is going to get in the way of that.”

“But-”

“We’ll talk about it _ later _.”

She walks away, catching up to Luka and Manon at the other side of the hall. He places a hand on her shoulder, silently promising that everything is going to be okay. She sighs, and leans against him a bit.

“How about the three of us focus on having fun now?

The rest of the evening plays out a bit smoother. While the statues are a bit unusual, they are all able to find at least one that they like and laugh at some of the more unconventional ones, such as the director of the Ladybug movie. 

At the end of the night, as they are walking back to Nadja, Manon pulls Marinette aside to ask her a question.

“Can you bring your boyfriend again the next time we play?”

Her face flushes bright pink. _ Her boyfriend _ ? She wasn’t certain if they were _ that _serious quite yet. And yet she finds it difficult to object, mostly because she’s not quite sure how to explain that to a five year old.

Before she can answer though, Manon, assuming her reaction was a yes, yells, “You better keep your promise!” races back over to her mother, who takes her hand and leads her out of the museum. Though out of earshot, Marinette can tell that Manon is going on and on about all of the different statues she saw, and Nadja is smiling and taking it all in.

It’s only when Marinette and Luka get on the subway to go home that she lets out a soft sigh, leaning on his shoulder. “Alya is really getting out of hand. I don’t really _ want _to, but I think I have to talk to her about it.”

“I had a feeling you were going to say that,” he says, “You two have been drifting apart for a while.”

He’s right, and that’s what hurts her the most. Trying to pinpoint the exact moment when it all started creates a large headache. What exactly bothered her the most? The pushiness? The assumptions? And why was it only now that it was starting to bother her? 

“I’ll figure it out,” she says, looking up at him, “But right now, I just want to be here with you.”

Exchanging smiles, she returns to resting herself against him, until they finally reach her stop, and they head their separate ways home.


	2. yappH eB, yrroW t'noD

Time spent training herself to get up to alarms is finally paying off. That morning, Marinette wakes up at the reasonable hour of seven-thirty, and cleans herself up. The night prior, she laid out her outfit for her morning day on her desk chair - plain, black ankle boots, a blue denim skirt and a white blouse with cat detailing at the pocket. It's a bit strange not having a blazer or jacket with her, but the pocket in her purse (also a plain white), will suffice for Tikki to hide in.

Glancing herself over in the mirror, she does some last minute adjustments, like fixing her hair. The goal is to aim for something not too fancy, but also a little something different from what she normally wears for school. She also doesn't want to alienate Luka's preference for more casual styles.

After assembling her outfit, she sets up the table for breakfast. With her parents already aware of her plans, they made sure to make a few extra goodies for their guest. There was enough bread and croissants prepared for either a lighter meal or something a bit more filling. After that would be a nice stroll through the neighborhood and park, with her returning around eleven that afternoon.

There’s a knock at the door, and she’s quick to answer it. She laughs upon seeing Luka - he finally brought proof of that robust vest collection of his that he bragged about (and apparently that Rose and Juleka stole from). It's a navy blue button up, worn over a plain white t-shirt and black jeans. 

“I’m glad to see that a Luka vest finally gets to see the light of day,” she teases, exchanging cheek kisses with him, “How are you doing today?”

“Pretty well,” he says, “I had fun at the museum last night. I hope that you did too.”

Minus the Alya incident, she did. But she doesn’t want to talk about that right now, so she merely nods. “I liked the game you and Manon played. I was afraid that she’d be too much even for the both of us.”

“Me and Jules have older cousins, and they work with kids a lot. When you turn work or the rules into a game they want to play, you find that they’re more willing to listen,” he says, “They also tire out much more quickly.”

She’d have to keep that in mind for the future.

Breakfast is a simple and casual affair. They share some croissants with fruit jam and orange juice that her mother freshly squeezed that morning. Conversations are kept brief and to the point, and she can tell it’s because he wants to go outside. She only recently started noticing how his eyes wander over to the window every now and then, and the occasional twitch of his leg after sitting down for too long. When she asks him if he’s ready to go, he perks up a bit, cleaning up his spot and opens the door for her.

Taking his hand and sharing a smile, she can tell he’s a lot more relaxed. It’s kind of silly to think, but she entertains the idea that he had actually been _ nervous _ coming over like this.

“You excited about starting at the Gauguin Institute in the fall?” she asks, “Juleka keeps telling me the application process was intense.”

“It was at first,” he sighs, rubbing the back of his head, “I’ll admit, paperwork isn’t my specialty. Sometimes, I have to have someone else read those documents to me so I can follow. But once that part was out of the way, it’s just the interview and portfolio. And since Delphine already specialized in the arts, the portfolio wasn’t much of a problem.”

“And the interview?”

“From what I heard, it can vary depending on who your interviewer is,” he shrugs, “But we were prepared for those anyway.”

That would be something she needed to consider for her own application process then. She found that she was getting better and better at public speaking, but she also needed to consider the presentation of her own projects. Thankfully, she already kept a file on her computer of all her recent commissions, articles about the Agreste fashion show months ago, and Jagged ready as a resource for all of her work with him and Kitty Section.

“What about you?” he asks, “You ready for your last year at Francois-Dupont?”

“Absolutely,” she says without even really considering it, “If we can just get into Mendeleiev’s class, I can survive the year.”

“Lila won’t have much of a chance in the new school year,” Luka points out, “I’m sure rumors about her lying will spread, and more people will be wary of her and whatever she says. Still, we should keep an eye on her.”

That’s true enough, and she nods in agreement. Although, there’s still the matter of dealing with akumas and Hawkmoth that’s going to mettle with her life. And with the possible elimination of the fox, the questionable status of the turtle, and the tumultuous nature of the bee, not to mention the arrival of the peafowl, there were nowhere near being in the position to take the offensive.

She wishes she could tell Luka all of this, because even if he doesn’t have the solution, being with him reminds her that there _ is _a solution, one that’s within her power to grasp. 

Perhaps that would be her and Fu’s summer goal then - finding ways to track down Hawkmoth, prevent akumatizations in the meantime, and eventually, reclaim both the miraculous of the peafowl and butterfly. It was possible for other threats to linger around the corner, but with her training as a Guardian commencing, and potential new recruits as miraculous holders, she needed to keep hope that things would work out.

The two of them stop at the park bench, sitting side by side and holding hands while the rest of the world flew by them. Hawkmoth, Chloe, Nino, Adrien, Alya and Lila all fade from her thoughts. She knows only the gentle swaying of the leaves in the wind, Luka’s firm yet gentle grasp, and the vague, passing scent of flowers and freshly baked bread. 

Every now and then, Marinette asks him a question (“How are things going in the studio?” “Is there anything you want to do during the summer?” and “Would you like a macaroon?” ) and he responds in kind (“Things are entertaining. Jagged wants us to finish our song this week and announce our first live show.” “Mostly finish up the EP, and finish writing some tracks. I doubt we’ll get to it, but the live show would be cool. More so if you could come.” and “Sure! By the way, did you make these? There’s something about the way you make them that’s very distinctive.”) But for the most part, they sit in comfortable silence.

It was moments like these that she motivated her to work harder to keep the city safe. Hawkmoth wouldn’t be allowed to take something like this from anyone.

About half an hour later, they start heading back to the bakery, Marinette wishing for just a little bit more time.

“Do you have practice today? I might drop by.”

“No, not today, we’re off. I promised I’d help Ivan look for a present for Mylène’s birthday.”

“Ooh, good luck. And feel free to use me as a lifeline,” she says, kissing his cheek, “I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah. Hey, why don’t you drop by the studio sometime this week?” he asks, “Jagged and Juleka wanted to ask you about something. And I’d be happy too if I saw my favorite person.”

Pink quickly overtakes her cheeks, but she laughs. “I’d like that too. Text me when your next meeting is, okay?” After exchanging goodbyes, she watches him turn away from the bakery, only until he is out of sight. Humming happily, she strolls into the bakery with a big smile on her face and not a single care in the world.

That smile quickly dissipates when she sees Alya standing inside the bakery, with Alix, Mylène, Rose and Juleka standing behind her.

“Good, you’re finally back! Now we can finally begin this emergency meeting!”

“What are you talking about?” Marinette asks, “I never called for a meeting. And I don’t recall getting any texts about this.”

That’s when all the girls start looking at each other, and whispering behind Alya. Looking at all of their expressions, Marinette gets the feeling that this has something to do with the previous night. However, Alya starts walking everyone else upstairs to announce her plans, and Marinette relents, just to see how everything turns out. 

\--

Less than five minutes later, all of the girls are gathered in Marinette’s room, and are listening to Alya’s “plan”. And Marinette is hating every moment of it.

“Okay, so listen. Adrien is leaving for the Royal Wedding today, and he’s going with _ Kagami _ ! _ Ice Queen _ Kagami! That means they’re going to end up spending an _ entire _weekend together, and there’s a good chance he could end up falling for her! Marinette, you sabotaged your chances yesterday, but there’s still hope! If we can find someway to stop the train or maybe intervene with-” 

“Are you serious?” Marinette asks, “I already _ told _ you, Alya, I’m _ not _interested in going after Adrien anymore!”

“I thought that was just because you were babysitting!”

“Well, then with everyone else here as my witness, let me make it _ one hundred percent _ crystal clear: _ I don’t want Adrien to be my boyfriend _ . I _ don’t _ want to confess to him. I’m _ not _interested in him anymore! I am happy without him, and there’s someone else I’m seeing now.”

No one dares to utter a single word as Marinette concludes her speech. The reactions are mixed to say the least. Rose and Juleka whisper amongst each other, already likely to be aware of the candidate. A small smile cracks on Mylène’s face, but she tries desperately hard to cover it, like she feels that it’s rude. Then there’s Alix, the only one to look completely disinterested in the drama unfolding, not even bothering to hide a yawn and her scrunched eyebrows. And finally, Alya, who looks more offended than shocked by the revelation.

It’s her fault, she realizes. She should have said something a while back, probably closer to when Luka confessed to her. But at the time, all she had wanted was to figure out things for herself. She didn’t want plans to hook up with him because Alya said so to determine her path to a possible relationship. She’s just not sure how to explain all of it.

But it’s important that she tries anyway.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner, but everything kind of just happened. And I wanted some space to figure out what it was that I wanted,” she explains “Basically, Luka confessed to me a few weeks ago. I was so happy, I practically floated all the way home. But I was also burned out from my feelings for Adrien, and all the failures from trying to get closer to him. And then, when Lila came back, we didn’t see eye to eye on the issue and I just stopped hanging out with him as much.”

“What does Lila have to do with anything?” Alya points out, “She’s not interested in him like that.”

Looking to all of the girls, only Rose and Juleka give a silent nod. With a sigh, Marinette asks, “Can I catch up with the rest of you later? I need to have a private conversation with Alya.”

“You can say whatever you need to right in front of them,” Alya barks.

“No, I’m not going to do that. This is _ my _ house, which _ you _invited yourself to. I’m sorry the rest of you got dragged into this, but we can catch up at a later time.”

“Thank _ god _,” Alix groans, “Make sure to hold nothing back. I certainly wouldn’t if I were in your position.”

The girls all file out of the room, with only Juleka and Rose looking back with concern. They only leave when Marinette assures them with a nod, which they return. Once Marinette hears them all go down the stairs, she takes a deep breath and returns her attention to Alya.

“I was _ going _ to let all these matters drop because we’re friends. But this is seriously getting out of hand, and I’m tired of having to spare _ your _feelings all the time,” Marinette huffs, “Now, Lila may not be the main cause of all this, but she didn’t help, either.”

“Lila hasn’t done anything! You’re just jealous of her!”

“You know what? You _ spouting _ that I’m jealous doesn’t mean I’m any less right about her telling lies,” Marinette points out, “I gave you a source, _ two _actually, that you could have consulted, and all you did was tell me ‘a journalist always checks her facts!’ Well, did you check Lila’s stories? Any of them? Including the one where she claimed to be ‘besties’ with Ladybug?”

“But Ladybug didn’t say anything about it! So it must be true!”

She curses herself that in her little visit to Alya’s the previous evening, she didn’t say anything about Lila. Of all the things to slip her mind, it _ had _ to be that. But then again, that had hardly seemed like the pressing matter at the time. Still, she never should have let Alya kept that interview up as long as she did. She ought to have said something _ sooner _rather than waiting for Lila’s return.

That didn’t mean she was going to let Alya off the hook, though.

“Maybe she didn’t want to talk about it because she thought it could put Lila in danger,” Marinette points out, “I don’t know. It’s not exactly a good idea for Lila to go around saying stuff like that, _ even if _it’s true. You don’t think that someone, like Hawkmoth, might try to use information like that to his advantage? Kidnap Lila and hold her for ransom? Or what about Lila’s mother, someone who works for the government? What if she has a rival or enemy that wants her out of the way? And don’t you think they’d might consider going after you or your family?”

“Girl, you’re just being paranoid,” Alya sighs, “Why would Hawkmoth want to waste time on someone like me or Lila? It’s not like we’re superheroes.”

_ She has to be joking, right _? But the expression remains firm on Alya’s face, and there’s no changing her mind.

“If you want to go on believing in Lila’s lies, fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you though,” Marinette says, “I can’t believe though that you would take her at her word, but feel the need to question _ mine _ when I’m supposed to be your friend. But fine. Let’s put that aside for now and talk about _ another _problem.”

“Sure, we can talk about your refusal to go after Adrien,” she says. She has the nerve to get up in Marinette’s face, grabbing her by her shoulders and starts shaking her, “Why can’t you just get your act together and ask him out already?”

  
She pivots out of Alya’s arms, into a stance that’s more confrontational than she intends. Becoming very aware of Alya’s body language, Marinette begins to survey the space between the two of them, always making sure they are more than an arm’s length away from each other. She’s not sure what prompted this bout of cautiousness, but it won’t be one she’s quick to dismiss.

“I _ already _ told you,” she states, staring Alya dead straight in the eye, “I’m _ not _interested in Adrien anymore. I’m seeing Luka.”

“But are you _ official _ official, or just seeing him to make Adrien jealous?”

“I’m seeing him _ because I like him _ , Alya,” she can’t help the bitter laugh that escapes from her, “Is that really so hard to understand? I’m _ happy _with him. I feel confident around him, and I don’t feel so overwhelmed that I trip over my own words around him. I appreciate that you were trying to help me get with Adrien, and I’m sorry you gave up so much time to make it happen, but it’s just not working out.”

“That’s because you’re not trying hard enough!”

_ Not _ trying hard enough? _ Her _ ? Several instances of her attempting to make a move on Adrien popped in her head; the birthday present she made for him (and how Alya literally pushed her in front of Nino and Adrien), the dance the two of them shared at Chloe’s party (also prompted by Alya pushing her into him), or the accidental voicemail (that was prompted by Alya pushing the call button before she was even ready to talk, not to mention how Alya prompted Marinette into stealing the phone to delete the cringy, _ cringy _message). 

“Or maybe it’s because you keep pushing me into doing things I’m not ready for or that I don’t want to do.”

“Because you _ need _pushing!”

“No, I don’t! What I _ need _ is for you to listen to me for once!” she yells, a bit embarrassed by how loud she’s gotten. She hears some awkward shuffling downstairs, so clearly _ someone _had heard that part of the conversation. That would have to be dealt with later. 

The original plan had been to keep an eye on Alya in her civilian life, making sure she wasn’t getting out of hand with the Ladyblog or her crusade to become a hero again. Have her finally come back down to earth, after spending so much time with her head in the clouds with Nino, and passing off her daily responsibilities onto other people.

But if _ this _was how Alya was going to act all summer? She shakes her head. She has enough on her plate, and Alya being a problem rather than a friend was not something she wanted to deal with. 

“If that’s how you feel, that I’m unreasonable and spineless, then maybe we shouldn’t be hanging out right now,” Marinette says, “It sounds like you have other things you’d rather be doing, and honestly? So do I.”

Alya’s eyes widen. “What are you saying? That we shouldn’t be friends anymore?”

“Not neccessarily. But maybe we need a break from each other. We should go separate ways and enjoy our summer. And then, before school starts, we can talk things over and see if we want to continue being friends.”

For a moment, all Alya can do is stare at Marinette with widened eyes and a slacked jaw. It even seems like tears threaten to spill, and her face blanches a little bit. Marinette doesn’t ever recall seeing Alya so upset, and she wonders if this was what it felt like when Chloe went after her when she was trying to figure out who Ladybug was.

“You can’t be serious. We’re _ best _friends! W-We can get through this!”

Marinette can’t find it in herself to cry as Alya does. “Maybe we _ can _get through this, Alya” she says quietly, “But right now, it’s pretty obvious we both need some space from one another. So, I’m going to have to ask you to leave and wait until summer is over to speak with me again.”

\---

She takes a few moments for herself after Alya’s departure before looking at her phone. Opening her diary, she spills out an emotional recap of the day’s events thus far, and even lets out a tear or two, before letting out some sobs and allowing herself to cry. Tikki is kind enough to bring her a cookie and hug her cheek, allowing her to just let everything out.

Thankfully, no akuma comes to bother her. 

When she’s finished, she wipes away the tears and cleans off her face. Checking her phone, she sees two messages, one from Fu, and one from Juleka. . But before she does, she checks over Fu’s message, which, as she expects, is an emergency.

_ I’ll catch up with you later. I have to run a few errands first. I’ll text you when I’m on my way over. _

Thankfully, getting to his house is a matter of moments, and Fu, despite his age, makes haste with the time.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice, Marinette,” he says, pulling out a letter, “I’d like for you to do me a favor. There’s a woman with a pretty brooch shaped like a Chinese ideogram waiting at the central train station. I’d like for you to deliver this letter to her, and when you finish, text me, ‘The cat has received its milk.’”

“‘The cat has received its milk,’ got it,” she repeats, “But a letter delivery?”

“Yes, it’s very important that you let no one else read it,” he explains, “This woman is a colleague of mine from many years ago. I managed to contact her and asked her to come into the city to come up with ideas on how to defeat Hawkmoth. I know things have gotten a bit more intense as of late with Mayura showing up, and the issues with your teammates, but I was hoping to find a way to make this a bit easier on you and Chat Noir.”

“You know, I was just thinking about that this morning,” she says, “I’m glad we’re on the same page. But while I’m here, there’s been some stuff on my mind.”

She explains her confrontations with Alya, and her doubts about Nino and Chloe. Fu frowns, but takes the story in, turning his gaze back to the miracle box.

“It’s a good thing you caught onto this now, while we’re only using temporary heroes. If any of them were allowed to keep them, I’m afraid of what might have turned out. Still you made a choice and learned and understood the consequences of it,” he says, his face brightening up, “That’s why I want to eventually make you the new Guardian, Marinette.”

“Wait, really?”

“Of course. I’ve seen you get up and go beyond the challenge every time. Your performance as Ladybug is remarkable, of course, but that’s because of your generous and creative nature as Marinette.”

“I don’t know what to say, Master,” she says, scratching the back of her head, “But I guess if you have that sort of faith in me, I’ll do my best.”

Moments later, she heads out for the main station, and keeps her eye out for a lady matching Fu’s description. It’s a bit difficult, since everyone is going on or coming off the trains, from tourists to business folk. It takes about five minutes of wandering around, but Marinette eventually spots an elderly woman sitting on a bench in front of one of the trains, her insignia popping right out to Marinette.

“Hello, ma’am,” Marinette greets, “I believe that this letter is for you. It’s been a long time coming.”

“Oh, yes, you must be Chan’s apprentice,” the woman responds cheerfully, “Thank you so much for bringing this to me. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble.”

“It’s not a big deal,” she insists, “You know us young folk! We have plenty of energy to spare! _ I _hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long?”

The woman laughs gently, “You’re quite alright, dearie. Now, if I could have a moment to myself? I can handle everything from here.”

“Of course,” Marinette says, “It was nice meeting you!”

Outside the station, she pauses, sending Fu the code, and upon receiving it, he thanks her for her time and tells her that will be all for today. They’d meet another day to discuss other details. With her free time returned, she races back home to pick up her stuff for the pool, and texts Juleka that she’s on her way.

\---

By the time she gets to the pool, she’s received a new message from Fu. Not only is he happy that he was finally able to reunite with Marianne, but she spoke of how impressed she was with Ladybug. The two of them were working on the plan to capture more information on Hawkmoth and finally allow Marinette some breathing room.

The pool is crowded by the time she arrives. Children shriek with joy as they splash each other, while teenagers lounge about, chatting away about summer plans. Sitting two rows away from the pool, Juleka lies in her seat with her phone held up to her face. 

Sneaking around, Marinette steals a glance, and sees that the video consists of a bunch of superhero action figures, plus a scientist and what she assumes is an angry commander. It's in English, so she can only make out a few words, but she knows for a fact that it's an old show - the graphics and text are reminiscent of nineties cartoons.

"Hey Juleka," she says, giving her a bit of a startle, "Sorry about that. Did I miss anything?"

"Not really," she says, putting her phone away, "Although I thought I saw Kim challenge a few people, and Alix stepped up to the plate. She seems weirdly on edge around him."

Neither of them say it, but they know the cause; Lila. Ever since their conversation about the message from Ali, there had been small shifts in classroom dynamics. Alix, of course, refused to be involved in smaller settings where Lila would be around. She made it perfectly clear that the moment Lila opened her mouth to utter a single lie, Alix might just go and strangle her.

Mylène mostly kept to herself. She entertained some of Lila’s stories with a gentle nod, but made sure to take them with a grain of salt. Ivan occasionally stuck his head into things when it seemed Lila was getting out of hand and Mylène was uncomfortable with it, but so far, nothing was completely blown out of proportion.

Nathaniel, while her desk mate, didn’t pay her much attention, either. He didn’t even bother to feign interest in her stories by that point. Max joined him in sitting away from Lila in the cafeteria from time to time, having sat down to do all the research with Markov and realizing _ there was no way a paper napkin could cut his eye _. Rather than say anything and shame himself, he sat in isolation to do work.

Apparently, he had _ tried _to tell Kim the truth, but Kim brushed off his warnings. It made lunch a bit more awkward for the two of them, so they were only seen hanging out together after school. If Kim wasn’t hanging out with his new girlfriend, that is.

Alya was the only one of the girls to really remain close with Lila, and based off what Marinette saw in her room last night, that wasn’t likely to change any time soon. And with Nino following whatever it was Alya was doing, Adrien would do the same in regards to Nino, not wanting to rock the boat.

All of them are thankful that summer was only two weeks away, and would give them a reprieve from all the drama. And without immediate access to everyone in the area, Lila was going to have to take more desperate measures to get anyone to hear her out.

But she’s had enough dwelling on that topic for one day. Instead, Marinette says, “Maybe she’s just not in the mood. Anyway, what are you watching?”

“Oh, it’s an old kids show my cousins used to watch when they were younger and lived in America,” she says, putting the phone away, “They sent me the link and wanted me to watch the whole thing since they know how much I like figurines.”

“There you are, Marinette!” Rose calls out from the edge of the pool. She hoists herself up the ladder and skips her way over to the two of them, “Did Juleka try to get you to watch her show?”

“Not exactly. I was just curious so I asked,” Marinette explains, “Juleka told me not much was really going on.”

“And I’m completely okay with that,” Rose sighs, wrapping her towel over herself, “The only chaos I want to deal with is fictional, right, sweetie?”

“Of course, moon bunny,” Juleka responds in more of a mumble, moving over to make room for Rose to scoot in next to her. Marinette gives them a few minutes to finish the episode before they return their attention to her. “So, Marinette, can I ask you something serious?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Are you and my brother actually dating?”

This had been another confrontation long-awaited, and yet, Marinette is still caught off-guard by it. She feels a bit bad for not taking more of Juleka’s feelings into the matter. After all, Juleka _ did _give some of her time up to help Marinette get with Adrien, and seeing how Alya reacted, she could only imagine Juleka and Rose felt somewhat conflicted about the whole matter. 

“Sort of,” she says hesitantly, “We’re not like official boyfriend and girlfriend, but he did tell me liked me, and I did end up asking him out on a date. Actually, that’s what I was coming back from this morning, before I met you guys. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, Juleka, I was just trying to sort out my own feelings, and part of me just really wanted to keep the confession to myself for a time.”

She shrugs, “I’m not mad. I mean, I do have to give you the inevitable, ‘If you hurt him, we have to fight each other’ speech, but the two of you really seem to make each other happy. I hope things work out well.”

“Speaking of which,” Rose prompts a bit awkwardly, “Um, did things turn out okay with Alya? She sent a text not too long ago saying the two of you aren’t friends anymore.”

Upon seeing Marinette sigh, the two instantly reached out and placed a hand on her shoulders. Averting their gazes, she gives herself a moment to breathe as she gets her thoughts together.

“I simply said I wanted to take a break,” she says, pinching her forehead, “That we should spend time apart during the summer. She doesn’t get how manipulative Lila is nor how pushy _ she’s _being about a guy I’m no longer interested in. I didn’t want to break things off permanently, because I think she can do better, but I need some space to figure out what I eventually want to do.”

No one says anything else, and the two of them lean forward to give her a hug. While tears don’t well up in her eyes, Marinette still finds herself overwhelmed enough to not know what to say. For a few moments, they just sit like that, at least until it’s too hot and they all need to cool off. With the pool not overly crowded for once, they take the opportunity to head over.

“Ha, I finally got you into the water,” Rose laughs, tugging Juleka’s hand and guiding her in, “That’s one item off my summer bucket list!”

Juleka takes the joke in stride, not veering away from the shallow end of the pool. Marinette arranges to just sit at the edge, letting her feet sway a bit in the water. They only stay like that for a few minutes, as more and more people enter the area. By the time they get out and leave, it’s dinner time and they all decide to eat out.

“So, have you two started on your applications for Gauguin yet?”

Rose immediately jumps into retelling how nervous she was about the interview, with Juleka nodding along and adding some rare bits of commentary here and there. And when they exhaust that topic of conversation, the rest of their meal is spent talking about band practice, Marinette’s new designs and speculation over Mirielle Caquet’s next move would be, now that her contract as a weather girl was running out.

  
Just as she returned home happy that morning, she returns home happy now. But thankfully, no one is there to ruin it. When she gets to her room, she writes in her diary: _ This day had a happy ending after all. And I’m looking forward to the next. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Typically, I don't make a lot of these notes, but I'm curious to see who will be able to guess what show Juleka is watching. I'll reveal the answer next chapter.
> 
> There is no Fu/Marianne romance because I felt that they could still work platonically. I didn't really have strong feelings one way or another about their relationship, I just felt like keeping them as friends. Sorry to those who ship them.
> 
> I touched on this briefly on a post on my blog recently, but I just wanted to say that I love all of your comments! I do read all of them even if I don't respond. And I'm also glad all of you are enjoying the sequel so far.
> 
> Next chapter might take a bit of time, because the episode it's supposed to be based off of hasn't aired as of this writing. See you then!


	3. Don't Worry, It's a Great Idea

It's the day everyone's been waiting for - the last day of school and the first day of summer break. And with all of the exams out of the way, and her class rep duties finished, both Jagged and Juleka have news to share with Marinette when she arrives at the studio. 

Juleka is the first one she runs into, and she doesn't miss how her eyes light up and how she runs over to Marinette's side.

"Marinette, look at my project!"

Juleka skips back over to the table, and Marinette can't help but laugh a little. Even after coming out of her shell, it was pretty rare to see Juleka have bouts of excitement like this. Perhaps Rose was rubbing off on her in that aspect.

On the table lies four figurines, with each one representing a member of Kitty Section. The ones of her and Rose are already finished, with Luka missing the outfit Marinette made him, and Ivan not painted yet. She also has two panels, one with a ship in the background, and the other a simple sky blue.

"Oh, wow, Juleka I never knew you could make this kind of stuff," Marinette exclaims, coming a bit closer to examine the details, "And you've gotten the pigmentation just right!"

"It took a bit of experimentation," she admits, "And a lot more paint than it should have. Mom kept misplacing it."

In the right mood, Anarka Couffaine _ could _ be coaxed into cleaning up around the ship, contrary to popular belief. However, her version of cleaning simply meant sorting things into piles and leaving the piles to sit until they were thrown about again.

With Kitty Sections's latest projects underway, the ship was being maintained more frequently just to have enough room for practice and maybe hanging out. But now that they were using the studio, things were getting a bit out of hand again, it seemed. The few times she had been over as of late weren't too bad, but she could see the buildup occurring.

"Are you just making them for fun?" 

"No, I had an idea for a music video," she explains, "Do you remember that show I was watching with all the action figures that kept getting destroyed?"

"How could I forget? It's all you've been watching for weeks. Haven't you finished it by now?"

She shakes her head. "I've been rewatching it. It only has like a dozen episodes."

"You must really like it then," Marinette says, studying the figures again, "So what are you planning to do with the figures then?"

"I want to do an homage to that series with a music video. I think it'd be pretty funny. But I still have to work on the sets and the script, and stuff.”

"Oh, maybe I could-"

"Marinette, just who I wanted to see!" Jagged calls out, startling the two girls, "I've got another project for you, if you're up to the task!"

Juleka places the figurines down, standing up and moving next to Jagged.

"We've finally scheduled an upcoming Kitty Section appearance for Summer Sesh down at Prado Beach."

"Wow, that's great, you guys!" Marinette says, clasping her hands, "And you had such a quick turn around!"

"Well, we figured it was our best shot," Juleka explains, "That's where most upcoming or aspiring artists go to make their name. I heard that's where Mirielle Cauquet is going to make her debut as a singer."

"That sounds like fun," Marinette says, "So do you need me to make new costumes?"

"Not quite," he says, pulling out a plain varsity jacket, "I think our upcoming stars here should have some cool, stylish jackets as an addition to their costumes. Rock stars love their jackets after all!"

Just looking at the template, Marinette already had an idea sketching itself out in her mind. Each jacket would play into the color scheme assigned to each member, while all the sleeves would be white with black (or maybe colore?) cuffs. The numbers on the back could be replaced with either the initials or a cat. Their last names would still be printed at the top. Maybe she could include some extra pockets for Luka and Juleka to store their guitar pics? Thankfully, she already started planning out t-shirts, so she had some of their measurements, though she'd have to measure out their arms.

In all of her brainstorming, she barely manages to catch a small smile from Juleka, who averts her gaze. Did she not like the idea of the varsity jackets? Or was there something that Jagged said? She'd have to follow up with her on that.

"Haha, I can see you were too busy internally sketching the design out to catch everything," Jagged laughs, and she does the same in return, guilty to be caught. "Of course, you'd be paid for your time, but you need to review this contract and have your parents sign it before taking the commission. So what do you say? Are you up for the job?"

"Of course," she says, taking the contract and placing it in her bag, "Um, I'll start sketching right away, and I'll try to bring the contract back tomorrow."

"Great! Everyone is supposed to be in the studio to finish recording anyway, so you can get any missing measurements! And speaking of which," he says, turning to Juleka, "We better go finish up today's track, don't you think?"

She nods, but allows him to go ahead, cleaning up her paint and figurines. Diverting her gaze to the retreating Jagged and then back to Juleka, Marinette pats her shoulder and asks, "Hey, you excited about the new jackets?"

Juleka hums, not really looking up. It's hard to tell if she's disappointed or just tired, but her aversion clues in Marinette somewhat.

"Are you okay?"

Finally, she pauses, staring down at her stuff. "I'm fine. I like the jackets. It's just that, um," she fumbles with her words for a moment before finally sighing, "I haven't really told Jagged about my idea yet."

"So he doesn't know about the figurines at all?"

She shakes her head, sitting back down. "I'm hoping to finish them up, and maybe outline my idea for the video before showing it to him. I just haven't adjusted to our new schedule yet so it feels like I'm always struggling to find enough time to work on them. I'm worried some deadline to start a video is going to creep up and I won't even have one batch done to propose my idea."

"One _ batch _?"

"Well, yeah," Juleka says, "The figurines get destroyed just like in the show. So I need more than one batch to make it work."

And immediately, Marinette could see the problems with all of that. Just how many batches would she need to make, and how much would it cost? Not that she wanted Juleka to shoot down the idea completely, because she believed it could become a reality. She just didn't know if it would happen anywhere in the near future, now that her attention was put on making the jackets, and wouldn't be able to help Juleka without missing a deadline.

"I'm sure Jagged will love your idea, once you're ready to pitch it," Marinette assures her. "And hopefully, once the stuff with Summer Sesh is over, I can give you a bit of help."

"That'd be great. I'll just have to do what I can for now," Juleka says, packing the figures in a box and leaving it on a bright red shelf, "Anyway, I better get going back to the studio. Want to join me?”

With a simple nod, Marinette follows her inside.

\--

Everyone is practically dragging themselves out of the studio following the session, including Marinette, who mostly sat back and started working on designs, and Rose's dad, who swung by to check out the session. Not that it was bad, but it was pretty demanding. The four of them were still getting used to the set up, and with the few hours they were allowed to work in, that left little downtime. 

Of course, Juleka in particular looks distracted, still concerned over her figurine idea. Even Marinette can tell when she's slightly out of tune with the rest of them. She's pulled aside by her brother at the end to see what's going on.

"I'm sure he'll like it," Luka assures her, "Why don't you go and grab them and I'll talk to him about it?"

She nods, and Marinette decides to follow, blowing a kiss goodbye to Luka. Back in the lobby, Juleka is in front of the shelf, panicking. It takes only a moment's glance to see why.

"Marinette, you saw it right?" Juleka asks, "I left them here, right _ here _!"

The shelf is the same bright red, the other ones still unpainted, so it's not as if they confused the shelves. Marinette also recalls Juleka placing the box on a level parallel with her face, even as she checks the other levels. And the office is still pretty bare, most of the stuff still packed up and in the main office, so it's not as though it would be hidden behind anything.

She spends a few minutes looking around the area, even peering into the few open boxes in the main office, but finding nothing that resembled the almost complete batch of figurines. By that point, Rose, her father, Ivan and Luka have come to the front, getting clued in and helping in the search. It’s when Marinette is searching near the back door back into the studio that she hears a sudden thud and sobbing.

“Juleka?”

But it’s too late. From the little glimpses she’s able to get, it would appear that Juleka found her figurines - completely destroyed and thrown in the trash. She’s on her knees, hands only partially covering her face. However, it’s enough to see the outline of the mask. As Hawkmoth’s akuma overtakes Juleka, Marinette races towards the bathroom.

_ \-- _

She has to be careful coming back, seeing as she only got a brief glimpse of Reflekdoll's powers. Thankfully, no one else left the room. _ Unfortunately _, that's because three of them were turned into figurines, and one of them was missing.

_ Luka! Where could he have gone? _

A gentle tap on her shoulder answers that question.

"Ladybug," he says, pulling her into a corner behind the sofa, "My sister got akumatized into Reflekdoll. The object you're looking for is in the doll of herself," he says, looking in the direction of a Juleka doll that's trudging across the floor, in front of an oblivious Reflekdoll.

Now that she has a moment, she takes in Reflekdoll's appearance. The only similarity to Reflekta is the drama of her outfit. She now has a gothic style purple and black dress, darker eyeshadow and makeup, and heavy black boots. The cuffs of her dress attach themselves to her middle knuckle on both sides.

She also learns pretty quickly what happened to Ivan, Rose and her father - they were now standing guard around the Juleka doll, while Reflekdoll was busy painting some cardboard.

"She must be painting the cardboard as a set to film her video," she mutters to herself.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing," she says nervously, "Do you know how her attacks work?"

"The doll has a paintbrush she uses to mark you. If she gets you, you get turned into a doll. However, she has to dip the brush into a bucket every now and then. She may look limp, but she can move around a bit," he warns, gesturing back to the other dolls, "She commands the dolls to attack and hold you down. Don't underestimate them though, they're faster than they look."

"Right, let's get going and get you out of here. Chat Noir isn't here yet, and I have a feeling I'm going to need help for this one."

"Ladybug, wait," Luka insists, "I don't know where Marinette went. I know I just saw her a minute ago, and I don't think my sister got her, but she's not here either."

"She's safe," Marinette responds, "She told me about what happened."

The look of suspicion and concern in his eye doesn’t go unnoticed. However, he doesn’t say anything to this, simply nodding his head. That was going to be something she would have to answer to later, she realizes. But right now, she’s not Marinette. She’s _ Ladybug _, and she has a job to accomplish.

It would be all too easy to simply just go back the way she came. If even one of Reflekdoll’s minions heard her or Luka, they would surely be guarding the area she came from by now. A quick surveillance of the room shows that Rose, her father and Ivan are all on patrol, only one of them leaving Reflekdoll’s side at all times, in case she decides to start filming them. All of them have a purple cat head painted onto their arms. The Juleka doll lies limp in a plain, wooden chair, but with a structure that’s clearly meant to be a throne.

“Ladybug, I’ll think of a distraction so you can get the doll,” Luka says, “She’s my sister after all, so I know exactly how to get under her skin.”

She can’t help but bite back a laugh. Of course _ she _knew that too, but she can’t give that away to Luka.

“And what might that be?”

“To this day, my sister and I have never completely outdone each other at Guitar Hero,” he says, “Maybe I can get her interested in playing against me and having it recorded while you take out the doll?”

“That’s a good plan, but where are we going to get the set up for all of that?” she points out. As far as she knew, there wasn’t a room properly set up for something like that.

“There’s a secret lounge room upstairs I’ve been keeping a secret from everyone,” he reveals, “Jagged said we could have it for our breaks or a meeting room. Anyway, I decided to clean it up a bit and set up an area just for me and my sister to compete against each other. It was getting a bit cramped at our house.”

“Sounds good,” she says, “From there, I might be able to get the doll with little to no worry. Now, there’s the matter of making myself scarce.”

For a moment, it seems like her chance to escape is looking good. All of the dolls now seem more interested in whatever it is Reflekdoll is working on. The throne guarding the Juleka doll is left unguarded - she could even swoop in now, or get in closer to use her yoyo to wrap the doll and bring it to her, and end everything now, if she wants to be a little more risky. 

“Hey, didn’t anyone tell you that you were too old to still be playing with dolls?”

And just like that, her chance to end everything quickly went up in smoke. 

Chat Noir sits in the window, one leg propped up, and the other hanging down, with a cheeky smile on his face. As if he had already resolved the situation, and was dropping by for a practice session.

Well, there’s still the possibility of her being able to escape, but she needs to get attention Chat’s attention and a place to regroup. Not to mention, she has to figure out a way to get Luka out of there too. She can’t risk Reflekdoll having both of them become dolls.

“No one seems to appreciate the vision of an _ artist _these days,” Reflekdoll scowls, directing Rose and her father in Chat’s direction, “Keep him busy. We can’t afford to fall any further behind schedule than we already are.”

The dolls all leap forward, ready to pin down Chat. It’s only with a quick pull of her yoyo, she’s able to get him to safety. However, that means the dolls have caught on to the fact that the two of them are there. 

“Ladybug, get going!” Luka yells, “I’ll hold them off!”

“But-”

“Please! Just stop my sister!”

With a defeated sigh, she drags Chat by the wrist and pulls him out of the building. She doesn’t have to look back to know that the dolls have Luka now. Sighing, she looks to Chat.

“Why did you announce yourself like that?” she demands, “I was working on a plan to take her out as quietly as possible, and then you sabotaged it!”

“Well, whatever,” he retorts, “You can do your plan or whatever,” he harrumphs, “I’ll do things _ my _ way. It’s not like you really _ care _ about me or anything. I’m _ just _a sidekick or whatever.”

It takes her a moment to process what he’s getting at. Once she does, her face flushes with anger as red as her suit. “You’re being completely unreasonable,” she points out, “We’re in the middle of a fight, and you want to bring up our discussion _ now _?”

“Oh, so _ now _you care about my feelings?”

“You know what?” she barks, “You want to work separately? Fine. Go ahead and try to figure out a way to defeat her on your own.” She flies back inside the building, headed to a room further up the building. A light is on at the end of the hall, and hesitantly, she approaches, seeing the crouched figures of Jagged and a woman she doesn’t know - a tan skinned brunette, looking no older than her early twenties, wearing a black Jagged t-shirt, some blue jeans and ankle boots.

“Ladybug!” Jagged exclaims, “Thank goodness you’re here! One of my upcoming artists got akumatized and I don’t know why,” he sighs, “I hope I haven’t been pushing her too much. She’s a good kid.”

The woman next to him averts her gaze, before letting out a bit of a yelp. “It’s my fault!”

“Wait, what?” Jagged says, “What are you talking about?”

“I’m the new intern, and today is my first day,” the woman explains, “When I heard that Jagged was starting his own record label, and had openings for interns looking to break into the music industry, I applied right on the spot. I was ecstatic to get the job! But um, I got kind of overwhelmed by all the stuff I had to do right away since everything still hasn’t been unpacked from the move in.”

“Ah, kid, it can’t be that bad,” Jagged says hopefully.

“But it was!” she insists, “There were so many directions, like bring _ this _ box to _ that _ room, throw _ that _ box out, but bring _ that _ box to the office! Throw out _ this _box, but not the stuff in it, actually wait, everything goes, wait, no, never mind!” She sighs, clutching the sides of her head, “At one point, I was using the shelf to put all the boxes down and sort out everything. When I saw another box put on there, I thought it was stuff to be thrown out, since it was on the shelf level I used for tossing stuff! I didn’t even bother to look and see what was inside! Oh, I knew I’d mess up big time.”

“It’s going to be alright,” Ladybug assures her, patting her shoulder, “We can talk to Juleka about it later. But for now, let’s get to work defeating Reflekdoll. I’m going to need your help.” She calls upon her Lucky Charm, which turns out to be something a bit mundane.

“An eye dropper?” she asks, studying it closer, “How am I going to use this?”

“Wait,” the intern says, “I think I have something in the main office that might be able to help us. But we need a distraction.”

Ladybug frowns, “Luka mentioned something about a secret lounge room. He was going to compete against his sister in Guitar Hero, but maybe you should do it instead, Mr. Jagged.”

“Who, me?” he asks, “I don’t know. I’ve never played any of those games in my life. The buttons just don’t feel quite right, if you ask me.”

“You only need to play long enough for us to get what we need,” Ladybug assures him, “So, here’s the plan…”

\--

Jagged’s distraction works so far, with the all of the dolls and Reflekdoll gathered in the secret lounge to play their game. That leaves the intern and Ladybug free to get what they need from the office. Opening a bucket of Quick Dry solution, Ladybug dips the eyedropper into the bucket, and pulls out more than enough solution for the small bucket the Juleka doll has.

“We have to hurry,” she points out, looking at her timer. “We’re cutting it close.”

The intern nods worriedly, “I’m not sure what else to do.”

“Go upstairs and help Jagged distract Reflekdoll. Maybe try to get close to the Juleka doll without being too obvious. Once I get up there, I’ll know what to do.”

The two of them seperate, with Ladybug going back outside the building with the dropper, and the intern taking the elevator up to the second floor. Using her yoyo, she holds herself against the window leading into the room, seeing that everyone has gathered up, minus the intern. Jagged looks like he’s sweating while Reflekdoll doesn’t have a care in the world. The dolls are all cheering for their master, with even the Juleka doll standing out of the throne, and away from her paint bucket, and the game is about to end. 

Just on cue, the intern arrives, and the attention of the dolls turns to the door, rather than the window. Using that opportunity, she peers in, seeing that what she has to do is simple. So she drops in, squeezes a droplet of the solution into the little paint bucket, and sneaks back over to the window, until the round is over.

“Looks like you lost, Jagged,” Reflekdoll says with a little laugh, “Now, it’s time to uphold your end of the bargain.”

“Jagged, no!”

But all the dolls pin him down, the Juleka doll fast approaching.

“Wait!” The intern objects, “Please don’t! Take me instead! I’m the one who caused all of this! If you want to punish someone, then it should be me!”

Reflekdoll’s gaze hardens, causing the poor intern to gulp. She takes a few steps forward, and the dolls all change their direction, pouncing on her. 

“How dare you. I know the perfect role to cast you in for my project. And trust me, you won’t have a happy ending.”

The Juleka dolls swipes her brush against the intern’s arm, and she’s transformed into a smaller version of herself. In the meantime, she pulls out an all black ensemble for her new doll. “I think this will look quite good on our main villain…”

“Jagged,” Ladybug whispers, “Get their attention back.”

With a nod, Jagged clears his throat, while looking at Reflekdoll, “Hey, um, so did you still need me? If not, I’m going to have head out now, start work on a video or something-”

“There’s no need for that,” she says, walking up to him, “_ I’ll _be handling directorial duties from now. Now, my little stars! Let’s finish up our casting call!”

Once again, all of the dolls pile on top of Jagged, screeching in victory. Even the new intern doll, pulling up his jacket sleeve, has easily assimilated to the new doll order. They all wait for the Juleka doll to appear and mark Jagged’s arm.

From the other side of the room, some insistent shrieking errupts, and everyone turns their eyes. The doll desperately tries to pull the brush out of the bucket, but it’s stuck in there, with all the paint dried inside.

“What? What happened to my paint?”

“Sorry, Reflekdoll,” Ladybug says, grabbing the doll and paintbucket, “But that’s going to be a wrap.”

“No!”

Breaking off the arm of the Juleka doll, Ladybug prepares her yoyo, capturing the akuma and casting her healing.

_ \-- _

She rushes in and out of the bathroom, hoping she isn't too obvious. Still, everyone in the room looks a bit out of it to really notice. Even Chat Noir still lingers about, not quite clear on what happened. Immediately, she rushes over to Juleka and Rose, though she just catches Luka's curious glance.

"Ugh," Juleka groans, "Marinette? What happened?"

"You got akumatized," she says quietly, "But Ladybug fixed everything right up. She even managed to find out what happened to your figurines."

"R-Really?"

The intern gulps before shuffling her way over to the two of them. "I am _ so _ sorry! I was trying to clean up the office, but there were so many directions given to me that I messed them all up! I thought your box was the one to throw out!"

Juleka cracks a bit of a smile, patting the intern's hand, "Its okay, I get how it feels to be overwhelmed." Turning her gaze to Marinette, she further comments, "I bet that's how you feel a lot of the time too, right?"

A little sigh indicates her answer. "It's not easy being so busy all the time. Half the time, I had to use a schedule to know what I was supposed to do _ one _ hour out of the day! Even without being a class rep, there's just a lot I had to get done."

"A schedule, huh?" Juleka asks, "We're not big on organization at home, but it might be the only way to keep track of what free time I have."

"I can help you draw one up later," Marinette says, "Just start by writing down your immediate dates."

"Thanks, Marinette," Juleka says, "I'll get to work right away.”

“Of course! And it looks like you’ll have a new place to do it, thanks to Lu-”

She stops herself before giving away the secret completely. _ Marinette _is not supposed to know any of this. She waits for the moment for Luka to ask her about it, but that moment never comes. Glancing back, she can see he’s holding the question back. Turning to Juleka, Marinette can see she’s about to ask her question-

“Wait a second,” Jagged interrupts, seeing all the figurines Juleka holds, “Did you make all these yourself?”

She shifts nervously, looking down to her feet. “I wanted to use them for a music video. You see, there’s this show I really like that I wanted to pay homage to…”

Juleka launches into her vision and Jagged’s curiosity is piqued. Marinette doesn’t bother to hide the sigh of relief that escapes. She catches Luka looking at her for a moment, before giving her the thumbs up sign that she should probably head out. She nods, though a pang of guilt hits her. One day, he’s not going to just look the other way for her, and he’s going to want to know what’s going on. _ Just another trial in the life of a superhero _, she reminds herself.

Just as everything settles down, and she's walking toward home, she feels the ground shake a bit. Startled, she collapses and scrambles to get back up. In the distance, she hears a very familiar voice shouting, "Cake! Cake!"

"_ Another _ one?" she huffs.

"Hawkmoth might have something planned," Tikki points out, grabbing a cookie from her purse, "It looks like Gigantitan is headed toward your house."

_ Oh, no. _ Gulping, she asks, "You don't think-"

"We can worry about that later," Tikki assures her, "But we need to stop Gigantitan _ now _, especially if your parents are in danger."

Nodding, she sprints off towards her house, only hoping everyone can hold off for a bit longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was afraid I'd be cutting it close with this one, seeing as we were under the impression that Reflekdoll would air two days ago. But since it's apparently not coming out until next month, I got free reign to do what I want with the episode. 
> 
> minkie, you guessed the show was Kablam! which was pretty close. The show I was talking about aired on Kablam, and it's called Action League Now. It's amazing and I love it.


	4. Don't Worry, We'll Figure It Out

The fight against Gigantitan is a greater disaster than she could have predicted. Not because the akuma was more powerful than before, not even because Hawkmoth had a well thought out plan.

It's because some switch went off in Chat Noir's mind.

Her partner went from being petty, and not letting her work with him (even though it meant getting hit by Reflekdoll and becoming one of her minions) to flirting up a storm with her in the middle of the fight. He called her all sorts of pet names, tried to kiss her, and even tried to ask her on a date. She couldn't help but wonder if maybe Alya was secretly in on the set up, trying to "incriminate" her, but Chat was just as likely to be self-motivated.

All of it made it that much harder to concentrate on fighting Gigantitan. And that's why she finds herself rushing off towards Fu's. She's not really sure why she would need the help of another hero at this point, since they fought this akuma before, but she can only hope Fu has an ample explanation.

"Marinette?" He asks as she rushes through the door, "The Lucky Charm sent you here?"

"Yes!"

"That's strange. Was there a problem with Gigantitan?"

"Not exactly," she hesitates, "Although I can't say the same for Chat Noir."

"You meant he was possessed or compromised?"

When she shakes her head no, Fu frowns but says nothing further, opting to instead reach for the miraculous box. "Very well. Choose the miraculous you need for this mission very carefully."

The box pops open and she sees the three remaining miraculous she's gravitated toward the past; the bee, the fox and the turtle. And yet, none of them feel appropriate for the time being. Especially with things as bad as they are with Alya, Chloe and possibly Nino. 

"I don't think either of these three will work," she says, "They just don't feel right."

"Then I think it's time to bring out the zodiacs," Fu says, pointing to the outer twelve, "I'd rather Hawkmoth not know about these, but I trust your instincts, Marinette."

With that said, she's feeling a bit better as her eyes roam around the outer circle of the box. When she sees the one she needs, she knows immediately who she has to find and give it to.

"Thanks, Master Fu," she yells, heading for the door.

"You're welcome, but Marinette?"

She pauses, staring at him, "What is it?"

"There's something we need to discuss later."

Guilt overtakes her for a moment, but she brushes it off for the time being. She needs to focus on the mission at hand. 

Not even two minutes later, she lands on the dock of the Liberty, with Luka sitting outside, tuning his guitar. Upon seeing her, he gently sets it aside, and greets her. "Ladybug, hey. Sorry about what happened earlier."

"Hey, it's not a problem. Your plan actually worked, so if anything, I have to apologize that you got caught," she says. She doesn't want to admit it's because of Chat, not wanting to stoop to his level of pettiness. Still, she doesn't like that it inevitably puts her at fault. "Actually, it's because of earlier that I'd like to ask for your help."

"My help? Is there another akuma attack?"

"Gigantitan is back, and we're having problems this time. But we have to act quickly because he's moving throughout the city," she says, pointing in the direction of some distant giggling.

His eyes widen. "Wait, that's near where my friends Ivan and Rose live! And Gigantitan is getting closer to the bakery which means..." He gulps, "Ladybug, whatever it is you need me to do, I'll do it."

"I'm glad to hear that, but you should hear me out first," she teases, opening the box, "This is the miraculous of the snake, which grants the power of hypnosis. You will use it to help stop Gigantitan. When you complete the mission, you must return the miraculous to me. Can I trust you?"

There's no hesitation in his answer. Just a simple and clear, "Yes." He takes the miraculous from her hand and opens the box, revealing Sass.

"Hello there, I am Sass, the snake Kwami," he greets, "I'll give you a simple explanation for using my powers. Using your lyre, you can use the power of Snake Eyes to entrance your opponent into a hypnotic state. The closer you are, the better an effect it'll have. Once you activate that power, you only have five minutes before you transform back. To transform, all you have to say is 'Sass, transform me!'"

"Okay, Snake Eyes, close range, five minutes until I transform back. Got it. Sass, transform me!"

\--

The two of them waste no time tracking down Gigantitan. It seems that Chat failed in distracting him, leading to the akuma getting closer to her house. The worry in Luka's eye doesn't go unnoticed by her.

"I just hope she's alright," Luka, or rather, Viperion says.

"Someone you're worried about?"

"There's this girl I like," he explains, "She's really smart and funny. She also got caught up in the last akuma attack, and now another one is headed for her place."

She has to bite back the smile, hoping she's not obvious. Really, she ought to be thinking of a way to cover for herself or a way to take down Gigantitan, and here she is, trying  _ not _ to grin like an idiot.

"I promise she'll be okay. As long as we do our job, we should be alright,” she assures him, patting his shoulder, “You ready?”

With a wink, he says, “After you.”

They land on the street, just in front of a billboard advertising a perfume for Gabriel Agreste. Just as they both fear, they are in front of  _ her  _ house, and a few of the buildings around them have already been wrecked. Chat is up in the air, half-heartedly fighting Gigantitan, until he spots the two of them below. His eyes narrow at the sight of a new hero, and he jumps back down to check them out.

“Who’s this?” he pouts, crossing his arms over his chest. The glare that he gives their new companion is one of the uncomfortable, unnerving expressions she’s ever seen from him. Even when Carapace was brought into the equation, she never saw him get like this.

Luka is thankfully a good sport, and if he notices Chat’s displeasure with him, he doesn’t say anything. “I’m Viperion, nice to meet you.”

Chat doesn’t say anything to this, which she’s not sure if she’s relieved to see or not. Either way, with Gigantitan on the loose and in front of her house, they need to act fast before things can get further out of hand.

“Alright, here’s the-  _ Where  _ are you going, Chat?”

“You obviously don’t need me,” he retorts, “So I’m going to do things my way. Again.”

She bites down on her lip, her fists shaking at her sides. If it weren’t for the fact that Viperion was there, she might have lost it and cried angry, frustrated tears. Calling upon her Lucky Charm, she receives a teething toy in the shape of a cake, large enough for Gigantitan to fit in his mouth. Pretty quickly, she’s able to piece together a plan to get Viperion in position. 

“I need you over there,” she says, pointing to a billboard, “Just follow my lead and be ready.”

“Okay,” he says, readying himself into position by hiding behind the board. Gigantitan is too busy chasing Chat around the city, when his hand brushes against the roof of Marinette’s house, causing a hole in her room to appear. His gasp is immediate and panicked, and he begins dashing toward the house. She has to drop down in front of him, and place a hand on his shoulder.

“Ladybug, that’s-”

“Shh, I promise it’ll be okay,” she assures him, “ _ She’ll  _ be okay, I swear. But I need your help if we’re going to fix it.”

For a moment, he can only stare at her in shock, trying to process what she’s saying. His gaze then falls back upon her house, waiting to hear shrieks from Marinette. When he finally looks back to her, the worry in his eyes clear for a bit before he lets out a sigh.

“Okay. I trust you.”

Running back into position, Ladybug leaps on top of the board and yells, “Hey, big baby! Did you say you wanted some cake?”

The cooing is instant and Gigantitan waddles over to grab the cake. Upon tasting it and realizing that it’s not real, he tosses it away and starts crying. Only the single note from the lyre is enough to quell his sobs.

“Snake Eyes,” Viperion whispers, staring into the eyes of Gigantitan. The song is a gently lullaby, and one that easily pacifies the baby. After letting out a loud yawn, he plops himself down, and prepares to take a nap, leaving Ladybug to easily break his bracelet yet again and free the akuma.

After returning everything to normal and returning August to his mother, desperately searching for him after he went missing, she catches Viperion headed toward her house.

“Wait,” she says, “We have to go  _ now _ . Your transformation is about to drop.”

“I have to make sure she’s okay,” he says, “I know you fixed things but I’m still worried.”

“I understand, but she can’t know about you,” she says, fumbling as she realizes what she said, “Er,  _ hero  _ you. That you’re a hero. It’s too dangerous. If you need to check on her, you can always just send a text.”

His gaze still lingers on her room, now repaired and without a single scratch in sight. After a moment, he nods, and the two of them return to his boat, him giving back the snake miraculous.

“Thank you for your help tonight,” she says, “I knew that I could depend on you.”

“It’s not a problem. I’m glad I was able to help. Have a good night, Ladybug.”

With a wave goodbye, she flies back towards Fu’s house, giving Tikki a cookie and handing the snake miraculous back to him. She gives him a quick rundown of what happened, and when he hears about Chat, the frown on his face is ever prevalent.

“Marinette-”

“I’m sorry, Master Fu, but I really need to get going,” she insists. She’s not sure why she wants to run from this conversation. It’s late, she needs to sleep and after handling two akumas that day, she just wants a break. Talking about Chat just exhausted her. “I promise we’ll talk about it later.”

He sighs in defeat and lets her go. When she gets home, she opens her phone to see the message from Luka.

From about half an hour ago.

Fumbling to respond as quickly as she can, she texts back that she’s okay and she’ll catch up with him later.

“That was close,” Tikki points out, “Marinette, was there another reason you didn’t want to talk about Chat to the master?”

“Do I  _ need  _ another reason?”

She frowns, but shakes her head no. “I’m not saying that, but if there  _ is _ , maybe you should tell us.”

“Maybe later,” she says, “I just… I need some sleep, Tikki.”

“Okay, Marinette. Good night.”

“Good night.” 

\--

One thing she likes about the summer is not having to worry about the alarms as much. While she’s still trying to get better about waking up at a reasonable time, at least once a week, she lets herself have a day to sleep in. And after  _ two  _ akuma fights in the same day, she’s letting herself have that extra sleep.

When she finally rises out of bed, stretching her arms above her head and letting out a long yawn, she feels refreshed, if a bit sore. She’s only given a moment to enjoy her stretching before there’s a loud pounding on her door.

“Marinette, you have a guest!” Sabine calls up, “And he’s brought a present!”

A  _ guest _ ? She looks to Tikki. “Were we expecting anyone today?”

“Not that I know of. I can go down and check for you, if you want.”

She nods, grabbing a quick outfit to change into and retreating into the bathroom. When she finishes changing and brushing her hair, she finds Tikki back in her room, flying about everywhere and dizzying herself.

“Ooh, Marinette, it’s the sweetest thing!” she cries, “Luka came to see you!”

Gasping, she reaches for her phone to see if he said anything about coming that morning. Apparently, he hadn’t, because the last message is just her assuring him that she was fine and nothing happened to her. 

A surprise visit isn’t so bad in theory, though part of her worries that there might be something else to it. After two akuma attacks, Luka’s suspicions were bound to be raised, and she didn’t know how she was going to handle it if it he started piecing things together. Would he be mad at her? Think she did something really bad? And with him being Viperion now, was she downright endangering him with her mission?

As the the thoughts cloud her mind, Tikki flies into her pocket and the two of them head downstairs. The bakery has a couple of guests waiting to pick-up an order, while Luka stands off to the side, smile forming when their eyes meet. She’s surprised to see him in a nice button up shirt and a pair of slacks, holding an arrangement of sunflowers. 

“Morning,” he says, “I just wanted to drop by and check on you after what happened yesterday. I know that you said you were okay, but I thought I heard the akuma attacked near your house and I couldn’t really sleep without seeing you and really knowing that you were okay…”

Continuing to ramble, Marinette moves forward, placing a hand on his arm.

“I’m okay, I promise. Nothing bad happened to me. But thank you for coming to visit.”

For a moment, pink dusts his cheeks and he can’t help but laugh at himself. “These are for you. I figured you could use something cheerful,” he says, handing her the flowers.

“Oh, wow,” she says, cradling them in her arms. For a moment, all she can do is stare at them, and then back at him with the softest smile on her face. “Thank you. How about we go up in the kitchen for a little bit? My parents need to know about the guests anyway.”

She ushers him inside, scrambling to find some sort of vase to place the flowers in. Thankfully, there’s an empty pot sitting by the sink, recently cleaned. Perhaps she’ll bring them into her room later, but for now, she’ll bring them to the dining table. Leading him up the stairs and into the kitchen, she finds both of her parents chatting when they turn and see the two of them.

“I see you found your guest, Marinette,” Sabine teases, “It’s nice to see you again, Luka. Have things been going well in the studio?”

“Yeah, it’s been pretty exciting,” he says, “We finished recording a demo the other day, with a second one on the way. And then we’re getting ready to perform for Summer Session at the end of the month.”

“That sounds great. Why don’t I show you some of the behind the scenes of the bakery, and you can tell me more about your music?” Tom asks, ushering Luka back down the stairs before anyone could object. Marinette reaches out, as if that would have any power in stopping the scene from unfolding, but a sigh from her mother tells her that won’t be happening.

“Well, that means we can have some girl talk,” Sabine says cheerfully, patting the chair next to hers for Marinette to join her, “Is it fair to assume things are going well with Luka?

Blushing, she looks away from her mother. As a child, she often talked about how much she wanted to fall in love and get married, but as she got older, she kept a lot of her feelings to herself. Granted, her parents eventually found out about her crush on Adrien, and figured out she was dating Luka when she spent more time with him, but that didn’t mean she wanted to spill and tell all.

“Yeah. Luka’s great.”

“You don’t sound so sure.”

She bites her lip. “I  _ am  _ sure. It’s just… this is kind of embarrassing to talk about.”

“Oh, sweetie,” she laughs, kissing the top of her forehead, “I’m just asking to make sure you’re okay. I know that dating is so new and confusing to you, and if you have questions, you can ask me or your father. I know we haven’t always been attentive when it comes to these things because of the baker, but I do want to change that. Soon, you’ll be all grown up and living on your own,” she sighs, patting her cheek. “I’m not quite ready to accept that.”

She pulls her mother into a hug, returning her laugh. “Oh, mom. I haven’t even started high school yet. I still need help with all sorts of things.”

“Ah, that’s assuring to hear,” she says, ruffling her hair.

The events of last night run through her head. Chat ignoring her, then flirting with her, and then back to ignoring her when Viperion was there. It was such a mystery to her as to why he would go out of his way to do such a thing. 

Biting her lip, she asks, “Mom, I have a friend who has this guy crushing on her. But she doesn’t like him back, and she’s told him repeatedly. Actually, she just told him the other day.”

Her mom frowns. “I see. Why has she had to tell him repeatedly?”

“He keeps flirting with her when she’s uncomfortable and then gives her the cold shoulder when she tells him she doesn’t like it,” she recounts, sitting back in her chair and playing with the ends of the cushion, “I don’t understand why someone would act like that. Why can’t he just be happy to be friends with her and move on?”

“If she’s told him multiple times, then he doesn’t deserve her as a friend either,” Sabine says immediately, “That’s completely unacceptable behavior coming from someone you don’t want to keep around.”

Averting her eyes, she laments at the possibility of having to cut off Chat somehow, which may not have been entirely possible. Master Fu  _ did  _ give him a miraculous after all, and she saw firsthand that there  _ was  _ good in him. And by now, she knew that even the best of people had flaws within them and made mistakes. She made her fair share of them, and needed to continue working on them. 

But trying to get through to Chat was like talking to a brick wall. And she was tired of finding herself stuck in the same position time after time. But she also needed a team of heroes to counter Hawkmoth and Mayura.

“I don’t know if those people are in your class, but maybe she ought to request being separated from him in school,” Sabine points out, “Or even transferring if it’s possible. Sometimes, you can’t always get away from people like that. But putting enough distance between you and them should still send a clear signal and present less opportunities for them to latch on.”

“Yeah, I get it.”

Sabine begins ruffling her hair again. “That’s why I’m glad you came to me and asked about being in Mendeleiev’s class next year. It was important the moment you realized that Lila girl was hurting you, you and your friends chose to create some distance and protect each other rather than continuing to subject yourself to her. And hopefully, you won’t be going to the same high school as her.”

She nods her head rapidly. There was no way Lila would be getting into the Gautier Institute, and she could say that without having been through the entire application process. The coordinators were relentless about researching prospective students, seeking out online portfolios and hunting down their recommendations, making sure to get a thorough word with them. And with the track record Lila had, they weren’t likely to take her seriously. 

A flash goes off in her mind as she recalls the previous day’s events.

“Speaking of which,” Marinette says, bringing out the contract, “Jagged asked me for another commission. He wants me to design varsity jackets for Kitty Section’s appearance at Summer Session.”

“Oh, that sounds great,” she says, taking the contract and reading it through, “That’ll be something else to add to your portfolio. You should make sure to take photos of your work during your process. Maybe you can even take pictures of them wearing them while on stage.”

“Are you sure you’re okay with me going?” Marinette asks, pulling up the ad for Summer Sesh on her phone, “It’s all the way in Marseille.”

“So soon?” her mom asks, staring at the ad again, “I’d have to talk it over with your father, but I  _ might  _ have heard a rumor that your grandmother might be coming back down to visit before you start school again. Maybe we can rope her into going with you?”

“I don’t know. Are you sure she won’t take things too far like she did last time?”

“Well, if one of the other parents is also going, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem,” Sabine points out, “Your grandmother can be a bit out there, but if you tell her she’s bothering you and ask her to tone it down, I’m sure she’ll listen. And if there are other adults, they’ll intervene as well, if you ask. After your birthday, I think she’s gotten a bit better about listening to other people.”

It wouldn’t be fair to hold the Befana incident against her grandmother forever. Not to mention, she hardly got to spend time with her these days anyway. And, if Anarka was coming, she was sure the two of them would get along well enough. Maybe  _ too  _ well. She could imagine all of the trouble they could end up in.

Before she can drown in that nightmare of a thought, Tom and Luka come back into the kitchen, both of them looking rather chipper. She can only deduce that their conversation was nowhere near as embarrassing or awkward as she dreaded it would be. A part of her is relieved before they can even say anything.

“How was your conversation?” Sabine asks, pulling Tom out of the room. She gives Marientte a wink before leading him down the stairs. Marinette can barely hear his muffled response by that point.

With her parents returning to work dealing with weekend customers, Marinette decides to make an impromptu brunch for the two of them. She pulls the flower vase and places it on the center of the table, pouring him a cup of black coffee, before making hers with cream and sugar. 

He doesn’t say anything, and that worries her, especially as his expression changes. The silence that accompanies them is the sort that she fears, and the sort that she never expects around him. Had his talk with her father been that bad?  _ Probably not _ , she thinks to herself. Certainly, one of the two of them would have been akumatized if  _ that  _ were the case.

“So,” she asks, biting her lip, “How did the talk with my dad go?”

A small chuckle escapes from him, and part of her is relieved. He doesn’t have to say anything to let her know that things went okay. But still, he responds, “It went pretty well. Turns out we have a few things in common. He even gave me some solid advice.”

He laughs again as she sighs. 

"There's something I need to tell you though," Luka says, his voice growing grave, "It’s kind of the reason I came today. I didn't want to keep this from you because it's important."

She can't help but gulp.

"Marinette, I know where you went during the akuma attacks yesterday, and I have a suspicion about where you were the day Animaestro attacked. You claimed you lost your phone and tried to look for it out in the hall, and I believed that. But then yesterday, you mentioned something about the secret lounge that I only told  _ one  _ person. And the fact that the same person brought me the snake miraculous, trusting me so easily… it was you, Marinette. You’re Ladybug.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, I have nothing against Second Chance as a power. It actually makes sense and I think it's cool. However, when initially outlining this story, I had planned on Luka's power being hypnosis. Even after Party Crasher aired, I decided to stick with this power so I wouldn't have to throw everything out.
> 
> One more chapter and then we move on to "The Radio Still Plays" aka Summer Session (or just Summer Sesh)! Fun fact: the song that it's a reference for is actually the song Luka picked for Jagged back in chapter one. And yes, it's another Swervedriver song.


	5. Don't Worry, Things Are Working Out

She  _ should _ deny it. Telling anyone is dangerous, for them and for her. Not to mention both of their families. The moment Hawkmoth either akumatized them or got controlled by another akuma, it would all be over.

"Luka, that's not..." She attempts to say, but finds herself at a loss for words, especially as she meets his eyes. 

She  _ hates  _ lying, and as necessary as it is for her job, she can feel the pit of guilt twist in her stomach. It doesn’t help that he can practically see into her soul with just one glance. Averting her gaze, she closes the windows and double checks that her parents are too busy downstairs to be eavesdropping. When she's sure they're in the clear, she returns to the table.

There’s no escaping it. There’s no excuse she can come up . And looking at him, she’s not even sure if she wants to. 

"It's true."

His eyes light up. There’s also an insistent, gentle stirring at her side, no doubt Tikki trying to get her to stop.

"You  _ can't _ tell anyone," she says in a panicked whisper, "Oh god, I don't even know why I'm telling you this. We're  _ both _ gonna get into a lot of trouble!"

His eyes widen, "You're right. I shouldn't have said anything. I just thought it would make things harder if I had to keep my suspicions to myself, but-"

" _ No, _ " she insists, "Maybe it's better this way. If you hadn't said anything, that might put us in more danger."

"Is there anything I can do? To make this easier for you?"

"I don't know," she admits, "I'll have to speak to the master about that."

"Okay," he says, hesitating for a moment, "Marinette?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you mad?"

She shakes her head. "Not mad, just tired. It's a lot to take in."

"I'm sorry."

She shakes her head. "I'm glad you told me instead of lying about it. I need that in a teammate."

And boy, did she need some new teammates. She just had to hope Fu had a solution so that she could keep Luka around.

\--

Luka leaves shortly after that, and Marinette spends the rest of the day thinking about how she’s going to tell Fu. Imagining him yelling at her keeps her from getting any sleep. Would he even want her to stay on as Ladybug at that point?

The walk to Fu’s feels like a lifetime. Dragging herself every step of the way, she finds herself hesitating as her hand hovers over the doorknob. When she finally grasps it, she slowly pulls it open and slithers inside, waiting for him in the main room.

“Ah, I’ve been waiting for you, Marinette,” Fu greets, as he comes

She frowns. “We have another problem.”

Immediately ushering her inside, Fu sits patiently as Marinette gives a play by play of the fight against Gigantitan and Luka guessing that she was Ladybug. As she finishes her last few sentences, her eyes lower and look away, not sure she can handle his judgment or scrutiny.

For what seems like forever, Fu studies his teacup and then the room around them, as though the answers were lingering just behind the corner. She’s not sure if she thinks this is worse or if him yelling would be.

“That puts us in a tight spot,” he finally says with a sigh, “Perhaps your choice was  _ too  _ good. Nonetheless, we can’t do anything about that  _ now _ .” Taking a sip of his tea, he starts looking through his books and scrolls. Humming, he studies the texts until something catches his eye. “There  _ might  _ be something that can help us out, and keep the two of you safe from Hawkmoth potentially controlling either one of you. I’ll have to have Marianne look into a few things for me, but I think there’s hope.”

“Wait, really?”

He nods, “It wasn’t possible before, because I didn’t have contact with Marianne. But she’s a retired historian and archaeologist, travelling through different parts of the world to collect information about the Guardians and remaining miraculous history. Even after what happened many years ago, she’s been able to find small bits of information and keep everything together in a book for me. I’ll ask her if she can send it right away. They could probably be combined with the few pieces that I have.”

“That sounds great,” Marinette says, her face lifting up, “But, what exactly would be able to help us?”

“A spell or ceremony perhaps,” he mutters, “A bit complicated without other members of the Guardians. But that bridge has been burnt.”

Master Fu spoke very little of his past as a Guardian, but she can’t help but feel a little guilty about having him have to do something like this. It couldn’t have been easy having to go back through past records and think about who taught him to read the language or who told him about  _ this  _ ceremony. 

“Um, Master Fu,” she says, biting her lip, “Are you  _ mad  _ at me?”

Sighing, he folds his arms over his lap. “I’m not mad, but I  _ am  _ worried. I would rather things have  _ not  _ gone this way. It’s much too dangerous for people to be knowing each other’s identities. I don’t think I have to remind you of what happened on Heroes’ Day, nor that the person who knows has already been akumatized once.”

She looks down.

“ _ However _ , I’ve also told you that I trust your judgment,” he says, placing his cup down, “Marinette, if this young man is someone you trust, and you’re able to get your work done just as effectively as before, then I’m willing to help you make this work.”

It takes her a moment to say, because she’s in such shock she’s not getting yelled at, but she manages to sputter a “Thank you,” and get a chuckle in return.

“Now-”

Before he can continue, the loud wailing of a guitar blasts from outside, making the building shake a little bit. Running toward the window, she catches an akuma flying by, with a guitar in hand, ready to blast some noise. Instinctively, she reaches for the snake miraculous and starts running toward the door, before she realizes what she did.

“Go,” Fu insists, “If you think you need the snake, then you probably do. Don’t doubt your instincts, Marinette.”

\--

And need it she did. There’s no sign of Chat Noir anywhere, and she’s not sure if she’s happy about this or worried about him blowing her off again. If he continued to act like this, it would make defeating Hawkmoth and reclaiming his miraculous all the more difficult down the road.

Desperada sits on the top of City Hall, prepared to play her trumpet, which is most likely where the akuma is. Though whether or not she’ll end up using her trumpet or her guitar is unknown. It seems she can switch between the two of them, and they both end up having different effects when directed at a target. The guitar turned people into adoring fans who cheered on Desperada, while the trumpet was still a mystery to them.

Ladybug and Viperion hide on one of the rooftops, watching to see what would happen with the trumpet. It was at this time she wished she had the fox to create a mirage of a person acting out against Desperada to bait a reaction, but then she recalls she has no one to use the fox and sighs.

It doesn’t go unnoticed by Viperion, who looks at her gently and places a hand on her shoulder.

“We can talk about it later,” she says quietly, “For right now, let’s figure out how to get that trumpet.”

A person finally manages to get Desperada’s attention -  _ Alya _ . After intently recording the performance and asking the akuma all sorts of questions, she manages to ask something to tick her off bad enough to start blasting her trumpet. From there, Alya turns her phone on herself and starts chanting at it. Deciding to bite the bullet, she uses her phone to open up the Ladyblog.

“ _ Listen here,  _ Spotty _ ,”  _ she taunts, “ _ Desperada is going out of her way to put on a show for all of Paris, so if you get in her way, I’ll make sure I-” _

“Okay, so we have enough of an idea of what’s motivating her,” she sighs, snapping the yoyo shut, “And proof that Alya hasn’t been listening to me,” she mutters under her breath.

He frowns but doesn’t say anything in regards to that. “She might get annoyed if we try to take her limelight, even if we said that we were accompanying her.”

Calling upon her Lucky Charm, however, it seems that they indeed are going to have to rile up Desperada some more. 

“A tambourine, huh? I guess we’re putting on a concert after all.”

They need to act quickly, as the timer to transform back has already activated. They quickly devise a plan that would allow Luka to get himself into position and catch Desperada off guard while she would act as the main distraction.

“Come on and jam out already, Ladybug!” Depserada yells, “I know you want to meet all of my fans!”

“Right you are, Desperada,” she says, landing on a building across from her, “I bet I could easily excite your fans as much as you do.”

“What?  _ You _ ? Impossible? You’re no musician, not like  _ me _ . But if you’re so insistent on proving me wrong, then it’s time to rock!”

The outline of the butterfly appears across Desperada’s face, but whatever warning or order Hawkmoth issues, she ignores it, still smirking at Ladybug.

Desperada gets so into the music competition between the two of them, she doesn’t manage to catch Viperion sneaking up behind her, his lyre at the ready. And after a few rounds of blasting music at each other, Ladybug says, “I think we’ll leave it up to the referee to decide the winner,” she says pointing behind her. The moment Desperada locks eyes with Viperion, it’s all over, and she’s able to take the guitar and break it apart.

The victim is a young woman in her young twenties, with copper skin and red-violet hair that sits as a pixie cut. She wears a red and black cardigan with skulls over a plain black blouse and light-wash denim shorts. Standing up, she regards Ladybug and Viperion in utter confusion.

“Ugh, what happened? Wait,” her eyes light up looking at the two heroes, “Wait, Ladybug, as in  _ the  _ Ladybug? Oh, wow! I’m sorry we had to meet like this!”

“That’s okay,” she says, placing a hand on her shoulder, “Do you remember anything?”

She sighs, “I was just looking for a place to practice for Summer Sesh. I flew in from Spain to accompany my cousin’s friend. But I kept getting shooed away or distracted by everyone outside of the studio. And ugh, if you knew the guy I had to deal with in there,” she rolls her eyes, “He’s such an as- er, he’s not a good guy, Ladybug.”

It’s not difficult to determine from context just who it is she’s talking about. It had been a brief interaction and from the events of the rest of the day in mind, easy to overlook. But there had been a brief moment where she heard Alec Cataldi make a few choice comments about the players of Kitty Section. One sharp look from her was enough to shut him down though. Still, there were plenty of rumors about how he treated Mirielle and Aurore during the Weather Girl Competition or his behavior among his coworkers off-camera.

“I’m sorry you had to deal with that. I hope the rest of your time in Paris isn’t like that,” she says patting her shoulder, “And I know you’ll do great at Summer Sesh.”

“Thank you, Ladybug. Now, I better go find my cousin before she really starts to worry.”

Right on cue, two girls come rushing over, and Marinette has to do a double take when she recognizes one of them as Mirielle.  _ Ah, that makes sense.  _ The other girl, Colette, had been in some of Marinette’s classes in previous years, but they never really spoke much. She seemed to really take to Mirielle, though, and the two became fast friends. The three of them take their leave, leaving her with Viperion.

“I have some news,” she says, gently patting his shoulder, “But first, we should find somewhere a bit more private to talk.”

After finding a small alleyway to transform back, the two of them begin walking towards the boathouse, as she explains her conversation with Fu. While she doesn’t look at him the entire time they’re walking, she can feel his intent and curious stare burning into the side of her from time to time. She can’t go into great deal - the Guardians, the history of the kwami and miraculous, and all of the potions are meant to be kept secret for the time being, which is probably why it took some real convincing on her part for Chat to get in on it. 

They finally reach the front of the house. Already, she can tell from the lack of humming or noise that no one is home, and it’s a bit odd to say the least. But then again, everything about the Couffaines was somewhat odd in nature. 

It’s now that she finally faces him, and her heart thumps a bit.

“So, there’s hope?” he asks.

“I think so. But I need a bit more than hope,” Marinette says, “I’ve gotten my hopes up a lot of times in the past only to be severely disappointed.”

“Marinette-”

A tear pricks at her, and she wipes it away. “I want this to work, Luka. I want  _ us  _ to work. Like,I can’t describe just how happy I’ve been for the last couple of months, or how I don’t feel like everything is out to get me. And even if that was so, I could do it and be okay.”

Smiling, his hand caresses her face. “I’m on your side, Marinette. And I’ll figure out a way to stay there as long as you want me to, hero or civilian.” 

This smile of his is contagious, and she can’t help but giggle a bit, sniffling away the rest of her tears. She looks up at him, and with the look he returns, it’s only obvious what would happen next.

Their kiss is gentle but sweet, and it makes her realize how much she really wanted it to be this way. There’s no sense of obligation like when Chat was possessed, nor is it interrupted by other people and yanked away from her, like during her scene with Adrien in the movie. It’s real and cements how secure she feels with him.

And she couldn’t ask for anything better than that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thus, White Hot Morning comes to a close. But thankfully, we will be getting our beach "episode" next time in The Radio Still Plays with two new akumas. And that's all I'll say for now. Thanks for reading!


End file.
